A Privilege

We’re up early, sipping coffee, and getting ready to go to our local polling place and cast our vote. What an honor it is to have a vote! I take that responsibility very seriously. Not voting is unthinkable.

We watched President Obama’s campaign speech in New Hampshire yesterday. Then we watched the rally in Philadelphia. Positive, uplifting, filled with hope.

What a contrast with the dark, hopeless, angry rhetoric coming from the other candidate. If I was still sitting on the fence (impossible) that would have sealed the deal for me.

When a candidate says, as Trump did yesterday, that if he doesn’t win “I will consider this the single greatest waste of time, energy…and money” – you know he was never doing this to truly make a positive difference. He was never doing it as a public service.

It was all about ego.

Okay. I’ve said enough, and heaven knows I’ve written about this election many times over the course of the last year. It has been imperative to speak out. And if I’ve lost some readers along the way, so be it. This election is too important. Period. No regrets, not a one.

If you haven’t voted, do.

We’re going out to breakfast afterward to celebrate this day.

And I’m going to stop, breathe, and remind myself that I have the honor and privilege of casting a vote for the first woman President of the United States.

Comments

I will be watching tonight and praying that America has done the right thing and made Hillary Clinton President! I’ve already voted and will be praying for our country today. Enjoy your breakfast, I have a Tiger coming to spend the day with me!

I voted weeks ago by mail. I really want to have faith in the American people that we aren’t the type of people that would vote for Trump. We are better than that. I filled out my ballot with my two year old granddaughter by my side. Thinking this is your future the 1st Woman President.

it was dark, windy and cold and i was tired, but i was grateful to be able to get up extra-early to vote before work today. i was third in line and soon there were about 25 people behind me before the polls opened; that was good to see. no matter who we choose in any election (and especially after this long and awful campaign season), we need to fulfill our civic responsibility and enjoy the privilege to vote!

ps – claudia, i love the photos of your sweet home, book suggestions, etc., but appreciate all that you share here on your blog – including the political posts. carry on!

What a tremendous honor to have the privilege to vote in this great country we live in. I could never put into words the joy that I feel in placing my vote for Hillary Clinton as the 1st President of the United States of America.

I know that I like most Americans am very troubled, stressed, concerned and anxious for today. I am praying, hoping for the best outcome for our country today. I pray that by the end of the evening the right decision will have been made by the American people and we can begin to heal from the horrid last year we have all experienced.

As your neighbours to the north, we have a lot at stake in this election as well.

I love the idea of the victory celebration being held in a building with a glass ceiling. Today should be a joyous occasion – let’s hope it’s not mired in negative rhetoric (or worse). Be cool everyone!

Just when I think the orange one has uttered everything vile left to say, he pulls another stunt. The quote about this being the biggest waste of his time, energy and money has to be a total slap in the face of all those who have worked so diligently to get him to the exact spot he is in today. Of course, his ego fully believes he did this all on his own. The man needs a lesson in gratitude! What a damn shame we cannot deport him or build a wall around him! My hope for tomorrow morning…we all roll out of bed and collectively exclaim, Donald WHO???? He can climb to the top of one of his gaudy gold towers, fill a room with mirrors and continually assure himself how great he is. Peace to all–

A complete slap in the face, but why should anyone, especially those who have worked on his campaign, be surprised? It was always about him, all about him – never about those who have helped him, those who have sacrificed for him or those who he ‘says’ he wants to serve. The emperor has no clothes. None.

He was booed as he walked into his local poll in NYC this morning. And booed on the way out. New Yorkers have no affection for Trump.

Waiting to celebrate the historic election of our First Woman POTUS. I always found it ironic that many other nations have elected a woman as the Head of State but we had continued to lag behind. We will catch up today.

I love what Jeannine said (above)!! Yes, and YAY to “Donald WHO??” I thought his words were just cruel and thoughtless to those who chose to work to elect him. Of course, I thought MOST of his words throughout all of this have been cruel and thoughtless, so nothing new there.

My husband left at 6:25 to go to his Poll job today. We voted a couple of weeks ago. He said our little “precinct” had 739 early votes. The next highest was just over 500 in 2012. They will be working until the last ballot is counted tonight. He said turnout has been very busy and they have registered several new voters (despite all the “help” to make it more and more difficult to register and to vote in Wisconsin) this morning. I hope there will be peace in our little valley, and all the valleys throughout our country both today and in the days to follow.

If men and women fight for our right to vote ~ then it is our duty to do so. We get the easy end of that piece. Vote.

I dressed all in white and walked down to the neighborhood school with my 22 y.o. son to vote. We chatted with two neighbors on the way. All the poll workers were friendly and ‘up’ for the occasion. Afterwards we took a selfie out front and came home for an e-chat
with my older son in Chicago. This is going to be a lovely day!

Since I’m retired, I voted last week in TX, to stay out of working peoples’ way today. There were more workers & machines than I had ever seen at my early voting place. It was so smoothly run, I was in & out in 5 minutes. Best of luck to all voting today. After 9/11, I don’t understand anyone eligible to vote not exercising their right to do so, regardless of the ballot choices.

We voted back in Oct. We have mail in ballots. Today I am sipping coffee, enjoying the sunshine coming in the windows and straightening up the house. By the time they announce the new female POTUS, things will look beautiful.

Just back, proud to vote for the first female Candidate of President! Voted for President Obama with pride too. One day my great great grandchildren will say just voted, won’t that be so wonderful. Love the Susan B Anthony story, I wish I were able to do that. Long wait ( 1 1/2) hour to vote and unfortunately only one machine to count vote so that was a bit of a line too, but it was so worth the wait! Cannot wait for your comments tomorrow…

I just spent an enjoyable 15 minutes or so reading all these fantastic comments! I can’t believe he said that. But then…why wouldn’t he. So sad. I was so moved to read that article about Susan B. Anthony’s grave. This is an historic day…we cannot forget the true meaning of today! As Chris said…Wisconsin has set a new record as far as absentee voters are concerned. And it is indeed a beautiful day outside…no weather excuses not to vote. Fingers crossed! ;)

Yes indeed. Trump also tried to contest the Nevada polling place where so many Hispanic voters waited in line for hours. The polls stayed open for two hours beyond the closing time because if voters are in line at the time polls close, they are guaranteed a vote that day. I just watched the judge in Nevada, who was incredulous, throw out the lawsuit. The lawyer was also trying to get the names and addresses of poll workers and she flat-out told him NO WAY.

Rhubarb-strawberry pie and french vanilla ice cream as soon as the results start coming in. :D

I voted today at the community center in the neighborhood I grew up in. It took me about 20 mins (I got in line just after the polls opened) and I walked home through piles of the most beautiful golden-orange leaves I’ve ever seen. I felt blessed and humbled as a Black American Woman, to be able to vote in honor of my grandparents who weren’t allowed to because of the color of their skin, and for my grandchildren who aren’t yet old enough to vote for themselves. Praying for the best for our nation.

We voted and I was tearful as I watched my ballot go through the scanner! What an honor to vote for a woman for POTUS. It is a beautiful day here in Maryland and we went out to Lunch after voting. The restaurant was abuzz with talk of the election. Now to wait for results and the End of The Orange One. Could we be so lucky?

It’s nearly 3am PST and I’m up, too, like Stacey above and, as I got on the web trying to somehow make sense of what has happened, because who can sleep, I also gravitated to your blog, Claudia. I could say pages of words on how I feel but my stinging eyes from painful tears say enough. Once Hillary conceded, I couldn’t stop the flow. This, after I’d paced around the house hours before saying, “It can’t be. It can’t be. It can’t be.” My husband’s work took him deep into the election returns tonight, so I was home alone (with my stuffy nose and head cold; misery) and all I can say was, it was rough. I felt almost physically wounded with what I was seeing and hearing on TV. I’ve got some other complicated things going on in my life right now (who doesn’t?), so I was already full of anxiety…and now, this. I have usually always come around and been loyal to a new president even if he wasn’t my choice of candidate. It’s something I personally need, to have that faith, in my leader. At the moment, though, I can’t find it in my heart to refer to him as President Trump. I will call him Donald Trump. Maybe I’ll later change my mind…but he has a lot to prove to me. My husband called before midnight because he knew I wouldn’t be okay and he said, before any of the talking heads said it, “There’s still the Constitution, Congress and the courts.” And one of the news commentators did say that the Constitution was written to deal with tyranny, and to have protections against absolute rule (like a king), so it limits the power. I guess this is Civics 101 (and I need a refresher, for my sanity). On the other hand, another commentator referred to DT as now the most powerful man in the world, which shook me to my boots because, this time, it’s real; no longer supposition. And yet another knowledgeable analyst said, that despite those three Cs (Congress, courts, Constitution), there’s Declaration of War and the nuclear buttons…so, you can’t dispute the position of power. It’s destructive for us as a country to stay mired; I know we have to move on…acceptance, reality. The markets are freaking out. Things feel unstable. But we have to live our everyday lives and not lose our hope. At least I have to. But I can’t get out of my mind a headline in one of the overseas morning papers, which was quoted on one of the news shows as I finally turned off the television for the night, “America, what have you done?”

Wow, Claudia, I’m so sorry you had to close comments on the ‘Say Goodbye’ post. You handled the comments with grace.

I have one more thing to share with you and then I’m going to try to follow my own advice and move on. But get this:

On an errand this afternoon, I had a talk with a postal employee with whom I’ve been acquainted for many years. He’s Mexican, born here in California, served in Viet Nam; about ready to retire. (Frankly, I’d been in a long line at the post office and EVERYbody was talking about the election results. Such a cloud of sadness and not a Trump voter in the lot.)

Anyway, my worker-friend was off-shift, leaving for the day; we exchanged a few words out at the curb. He was shaking his head in downright angst as to an excruciating conversation he’d just had at lunch with his lovely granddaughter who’s in her first year of college. They’re very close and she called him with a lot of emotion and worry about the president-elect. This is all new to her. She really can’t remember a time when President Obama wasn’t in office. My friend said, ” She’s conditioned to a president who is presidential, and who has high respect for his wife, his daughters, his mother-in-law, his grandmother. Someone who would never utter coarse words about a woman’s ‘privates’.” Her question to my friend, “Papa, I don’t understand; how can such a hateful man be elected my President?”

Here she is, a young, impressionable girl-woman just beginning her adult life, and look at what she’s having to face for the next four years. How do you grow into such a world? My friend said he just couldn’t come up with how to answer her because he doesn’t understand it either. And, oh, how it bothered him, because she looks to him for guidance and wisdom. (I’m sure similar conversations are going on all over the country today, with many parents and their children.)

An even more disturbing comment from my friend, who is gracious, calm and intelligent…and quite humble about his military service, although proud to be a veteran…was his profound, quiet comment to me, “This man is going to get us in a war. Mark my words. Not only have we likely just witnessed our last chance to have a woman as president; we may yet witness our last chance to have any president.” Farfetched? Coming from this non-drama guy, who’s not a sensationalist or catastrophizer: Chilling.

Clearly, we all have a lot on our minds right now, and it’s not going to go away anytime soon. I’m not convinced DT is very interested, the day after, in the mood of many in our country. I’m trying to dispel the image, in my own mind, of him strutting around in an ermine cape with a crown on his head. Blustery King Of The Forest. It hasn’t even been 24 hours; I know I need to settle down. I almost wish I was a drinker, so I could have a nice, stiff drink.

You mentioned an empowering thing and I’m taking your lead: I really, really want to understand the U. S. Constitution. I don’t have enough knowledge about it, and I need to know it backward and forward. At present, I’m sensing it’s a lifeline.

All of it is so alarming, Vicki. I wake up in the middle of the night and remember what just happened and then I can’t get back to sleep. I think all of us should arms ourselves with a copy of the Constitution, as Mr. Kahn has done. We’ll need it during the next four years.

Claudia, I have been following your blog for a long time but never commented. I want to do so this morning, because I want to let you know that I have appreciated your words on this blog in the past few weeks. I am heartbroken as many of us — women and others — are this morning. I hope we can turn all this into a positive opportunity for the better, but right now it is hard to see it.

I am so grateful for your posts. I joined a secret group on fb. Hilary even mentioned it in her speech this morning! This is a group of over 3 million educated, informed, and compassionate women and men, with no trolls. This group has been such a needed lift for me this morning. I imagine I will go through all of the traditional stages- shock, grief, anger, etc. Right now I am in shock and I do not know how long it will be before I can fully grasp what has happened.

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband and dog. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating. My decorating style is eclectic but if I had to call it anything, I'd call it Christmas in Connecticut, after all those forties movies with comfy cottage style.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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